Lucozade
}} Lucozade is a soft drink manufactured by the Japanese company Suntory and marketed as a range of sports and energy drinks. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it was acquired by the British pharmaceutical company Beecham's in 1938 and sold as an energy drink for the sick as Lucozade. The company's advertising slogan was "Lucozade aids recovery". A glucose–water solution, the product was sold until 1983 as a carbonated, slightly orange-flavoured drink in a glass bottle wrapped in yellow cellophane. Pharmacists sold it, children were given it when ill, and hospital visitors would regularly arrive with a bottle.Delingpole, James (6 May 2017). "Jamie Oliver’s Lucozade meddling has stolen my childhood", The Spectator. James Willocks and Wallace Barr (2004): "a rush of friends and relations clutching the traditional bunch of flowers and bottle of Lucozade". "Adrian Mole" (The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999–2001, 2009): "Personally I think it was a great mistake to provide hospital patients with bedside telephones. They give their long-suffering relations no peace with their incessant, peevish demands for Lucozade and boxes of tissues."Townsend, Sue (2009). The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001. Penguin UK, 70.}} It was rebranded as a "pick me up" in 1978 and as a sports drink in 1983 to associate it with health rather than sickness. The company switched to a plastic bottle and introduced a range of flavours. As of 2016, a 500 ml bottle contained 62 g (15.5 cubes) of sugar, more than Coca-Cola. In 2017, to avoid sugar tax, the drink was reformulated to contain 4.5 g of sugar per 100 ml of liquidCave, Andrew (30 October 2017). "Lucozade Ribena Suntory boss: 'Our drinks can be fuel for healthier living'", The Daily Telegraph. and the artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame K. In 1989 the Beecham Group merged to form SmithKline Beecham, which in 2000 merged to form GlaxoSmithKline. In September 2013 GlaxoSmithKline sold Lucozade and another soft drink, Ribena, to the Japanese conglomerate Suntory for £1.35 billion.Monaghan, Angela. "Ribena and Lucozade sold to Japanese drinks giant", The Guardian, 9 September 2013. History "Glucozade" was invented by William Walker Hunter in 1927 in Newcastle; Hunter had taken over the business of pharmacist William Owen. Hunter sold the product to Beecham Group in 1938 and it was eventually renamed to Lucozade. In 1953, a factory for the production of Lucozade products was opened in Brentford, which, until 2004, had an iconic sign seen on the side of the M4 motorway (now in Gunnersbury Park Museum). Lucozade originally was available in only one variety, which was effervescent with a distinctive sweet citric flavour. It was sold in a glass bottle with a yellow cellophane wrap until 1983, when Lucozade was rebranded as an energy drink to shift the brand's associations away from illness. The slogan "Lucozade aids recovery" was replaced by "Lucozade replaces lost energy". The glass bottle was replaced by a plastic (polyethylene terephthalate, PET) one. After the rebranding, between 1984 and 1989 UK sales tripled to almost £75 million. In 1989 the Beecham Group and SmithKline Beckman merged to form SmithKline Beecham, and in 2000 SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoWellcome merged to form GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). In 2013 GSK put Ribena and Lucozade up for sale. . Suntory, a Japanese holding company, bought the brands in September for £1.35 billion. At the time of the sale, the product was manufactured in England at the Royal Forest Factory in Coleford, Gloucestershire, in the Forest of Dean. Products Energy Products The following flavours are currently available in the UK: * Lucozade Original * Lucozade Orange * Lucozade Cherry * Lucozade Pink Lemonade * Lucozade Caribbean Crush * Lucozade Pineapple Punch (Launched in 2018) * Lucozade Blackcurrant Bliss * Lucozade The Brazilian * Lucozade Croft Apple (launched in 2018) The following flavours are currently sold as Zero Energy products: * Lucozade Original Zero * Lucozade Orange Zero * Lucozade Pink Lemonade Zero (New for 2017) * Lucozade Fit Water * Lucozade Sport Raspberry * Lucozade Sport Orange * Lucozade Sport Orange (Low Cal) The following flavours were previously sold in the UK: * Lucozade Energy Lemon * Lucozade Energy Wild Berry * Lucozade Strawberry * Lucozade Apple * Lucozade Black Cola (Limited edition) * Lucozade Cloudy Lemonade (Limited edition) * Lucozade Melonade (Limited edition) * Lucozade Citrus Clear (Launched in 2003, but still available in Ireland only). The following flavours are available in Australia: * Lucozade Original * Lucozade Orange Purpose and effectiveness A stated purpose of sports drinks, which provide many calories of energy from sugars, is to improve performance and endurance. In an analysis by Matthew Thompson and colleagues from the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, of 431 marketing claims of performance enhancement, most cited no evidence. 174 sources were cited for Lucozade; of them, Thompson found only three studies of high quality with a low risk of bias. The rigorous studies that did show improved endurance were "of limited relevance to most people because the tests were on elite athletes". Thompson said that for the vast majority of people drinking such products "could completely counteract exercising more, playing football more, going to the gym more". The drinks are marketed as soft drinks; a soft drinks industry spokesman said in response "By helping people participating in sport to perform better and to recover more quickly, sports drinks can encourage people to exercise more". In May 2016, Liverpool City Council started a campaign against so-called "sugary drinks". The "name and shame" campaign, entitled “Is your child’s sweet tooth harming their health?”, claimed that Lucozade was the worst offender, containing 62 grams of sugar in a 500 ml bottle, followed by Coca-Cola with 54 grams. Posters for the campaign "were displayed in doctors' surgeries and hospitals." In its original high sugar content formulation Lucozade was recommended by UK diabetes charities as an immediate treatment for hypoglycemia in individuals who take insulin. Since its change to use of artificial sweeteners guidelines have been changed to state that Lucozade should not be used to treat diabetic hypos. Sponsorships ]] Lucozade Sport is a major sponsor of events, teams and athletes in the UK and Ireland, including the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), FA Premier League, FA Cup, England Rugby Football Union, England Football Team, the Republic Of Ireland Football Team, the London Marathon, Parkrun, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Damien Duff, Ronan O'Gara and Ben Wynne. From 2012, the McLaren Formula One team is also sponsored by Lucozade. Collaborations In 2017 British fashion supplier Missguided was included in a campaign by Lucozade Zero. Coded cans were offered at booths in crowded areas that entitled drinkers to discounts on Missguided products.https://www.promomarketing.info/lucozade-zero-missguided-partner-pack-experiential/ Notes References External links * Lucozade.com * Lucozadeenergy.com * Lucozadesport.com Category:British drink brands Category:Sports drinks Category:Energy drinks Category:Suntory Category:Products introduced in 1927